I always assumed because entrepreneurs are so driven and ambitious, they must be inherently motivated, and because I easily lose steam on the motivation train, there must be something wrong with me. However, as I began to work with more business owners, I noticed an interesting pattern in their motivation cycles, and I’m willing to bet you can see some of yourself in it.

I advise that you reject resolutions, not because I am convinced that we are destined to fail if we set them, but unless we take the time to work all the way through the vision, seeing ourselves successfully completing in our mind’s eye, and planning the strategy from the end to the beginning, the determination and motivation most certainly will not magically appear.

Those who have never started a business from a “crazy” idea, with no money, a plan sketched-out on a bar napkin or scratch paper, just won’t understand. Take heart, you are not alone. I started my coaching business at the bidding of a colleague, who was the fourth person who suggested I should become a coach. I went and got a certification and registered an LLC with not much thought beyond wanting to help people. I had no seed money, and even less marketing. Crazy, I know.

Do I recommend this? Um…not really. But this is the way a lot of entrepreneurs start their businesses.

One of the biggest catches to being an entrepreneur is an innate sense of wide-eyed wonder and awe at all of the possibilities. I even write and teach about limitless potential and staying open to all possibilities. Here’s the deal, though:

If you are not clear on your vision, then every single opportunity will distract you and impede your progress.

Sometimes when we act on gut instinct, or intuition, we are listening to our higher self, that knowing that directs us to make decisions even when they seem illogical or even risky. Other times when we tell ourselves that we are trusting an intuitive nudge, but deep down, we know we are letting the ego and our fears get the better of us.

If you are an entrepreneur, you might not have given much thought to leadership development, if any at all, because you probably started your business with a grand idea of helping people with a product or service, not developing yourself as a leader. But the truth is, as an entrepreneur, you are in the leadership business, and rather than resist it...

What if??

I hear this question a lot, followed by all manner of frightful, worrying, utterly catastrophic outcomes, and yet hardly ever hear the potential amazingly awesome results that could come from taking a risk (or even taking one step toward that risk, for that matter).